U.S. funds for HIV program must be replaced to avoid millions of deaths: UN-Nation
Over the years, U.S.-led investment in AIDS programs has reduced the number of people killed by the disease to levels seen in more than three decades and provided life-saving drugs to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
But over the past six months, the sudden withdrawal of the U.S. currency has caused a “systemic shock”, with UN officials warning that without replacement funds, it could result in more than 4 million AIDS-related deaths, with HIV infections increasing by 6 million by 2029.
“The current wave of funding losses has damaged supply chains, causing closure of health facilities, thousands of health clinics without employees, mitigating prevention programs, weakening HIV testing efforts and forcing many community organizations to reduce or stop their HIV activities,” UniaDs said in a report released Thursday.
Unaids also said it fears other major donors will also reduce their support, reversing decades of progress in global AIDS – and strong multilateral cooperation is threatened at risk due to war, geopolitical shifts and climate change.
The US$4 billion pledged for the global HIV response in 2025 disappeared almost overnight in January when U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a moratorium on all foreign aid and later moved to U.S. aid agencies.
Andrew Hill, an HIV expert at the University of Liverpool, has no contact with the UN, said that while Trump has the right to spend our money as he sees it is appropriate, “any responsible government will warn in advance so that the country can plan the plan,” rather than getting stuck in Africa when clinics are closed.
U.S. President George W. Bush launched the U.S. president’s AIDS relief emergency program in 2003, the biggest promise of any country focusing on one disease.
Get weekly health news
Receive the latest medical news and health information every Sunday.
Unaids called the program a “lifeline” for countries with high HIV rates and expressed support for testing 84.1 million people, treating 20.6 million, and other initiatives. According to Nigeria, Pepfar also funded 99.9% of the country’s drug budget for HIV prevention.
According to UNAIDS estimates, there are about 630,000 AIDS-related deaths worldwide in 2024 – the number has remained different since 2022 after reaching about 2 million deaths in 2004.
Even before the U.S. cut funding, progress towards curbing HIV was unbalanced. Unaids said half of all new infections are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Tom Ellman of philanthropist without borders says that while some poor countries are now working to fund more of their own HIV programs, it is impossible to fill the gap left by the United States
“We can do nothing to protect these countries from the sudden, vicious withdrawal of the United States,” said Elman, the doctor director of the South African medical department without borders.
Experts are also worried about another loss: data. Dr. Chris Beyrer, director of the Duke Institute for Global Health, said the U.S. paid for most HIV surveillance, including hospitals, patients and electronic records, and now all of this has stopped abruptly.
“It’s hard to stop it without reliable data on how HIV spreads,” he said.
The uncertainty is that twice-year injections may end HIV, as research published last year showed that drug manufacturer Gilead’s drug is 100% effective in preventing the virus.
At the launch event on Thursday, South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the country would “move mountains and rivers to ensure every adolescent girl who needs it gets it,” and that the continent’s reliance on our past on our aid was “terrible”.
Peter Maybarduk, who advocates for group citizens, said last month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called Yeztugo, a move that would have been a “threshold moment” to stop the AIDS epidemic.
But activists like Maybarduk say Gilead’s pricing will leave many countries out of reach. Gilead has agreed to sell a universal version of the drug in 120 poor countries, but has a high HIV rate, but has excluded almost all regions of Latin America, where the rate is much lower but has increased.
“We might end AIDS,” Maibaduk said. “On the contrary, the United States is giving up on the fight.”
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
